Atlantic Lottery Marks 50 Years of Game-Changing Impact in Atlantic Canada
MONCTON, New Brunswick (October 21, 2026) – Atlantic Lottery’s 2025-26 annual report highlights 50 years of game-changing impact across the region, including $492 million in profit returned to the four Atlantic provinces during the past year.
“Atlantic Lottery was created to benefit the people and places of Atlantic Canada, and that purpose continues to guide us 50 years later,” President and CEO Dallas McCready said. “We’re proud of the value we have delivered over five decades, and we’re equally focused on how we continue to evolve, compete and create lasting value for the region for the next 50 years and beyond.”
Since 1976, Atlantic Lottery has returned nearly $13.4 billion in profit to the four Atlantic provinces, awarded $13 billion in prizes to players and provided more than $4.6 billion to retailers through commissions — more than $31 billion combined over 50 years, in addition to supporting Atlantic Canada through jobs and regional operations.
Like other organizations across the retail and entertainment sectors, Atlantic Lottery continues to navigate affordability pressures, changing discretionary spending habits and shifting player behaviour.
McCready noted these challenges have been compounded by the rapid growth of illegal online gambling operators that increasingly compete for Atlantic Canadian players while providing none of the economic or community benefits Atlantic Lottery delivers.
“Atlantic Lottery is facing a level of disruption that is unprecedented in our 50-year history and the effect on our financial performance last year was clear,” McCready said. “The growth of illegal online gambling has fundamentally changed the competitive landscape. These operators are drawing significant gaming dollars out of Atlantic Canada, contribute nothing to provincial revenues in our region, and are not subject to the same healthy play and consumer protection requirements that govern Atlantic Lottery.
“We are taking decisive action to compete effectively while continuing to protect players and maximize returns for the benefit of Atlantic Canadians.”
The report highlights how the organization is responding to this evolving landscape by continuing to modernize its products and player experiences through initiatives including the launch of AL Rewards and Live Casino, enhanced personalization efforts, and ongoing investment to update and integrate the retail experience.
In 2025-26, Atlantic Lottery increased its share of regional online betting and gaming activity to 35 per cent, up from 34 per cent the previous year. This progress comes as illegal gambling operators continue to compete for Atlantic Canadian players. Approximately $250 million is estimated to leave the regional economy each year through illegal operators, while Atlantic Lottery kept 91 cents of every lottery dollar in Atlantic Canada in 2025-26 to support essential services like health care, education and infrastructure.
Another key differentiator from illegal operators is Atlantic Lottery’s continued focus on putting players first by prioritizing healthy play across the organization and through its PlayWise initiatives. In 2025-26, more than 27.5 per cent of online players set at least one discretionary healthy play limit, exceeding Atlantic Lottery’s corporate target and more than doubling the industry standard. The organization was also recertified at Level 4 under the World Lottery Association’s Responsible Gaming Framework in January 2026, maintaining the highest level of certification, which it has held since 2010.
In 2025-26, Atlantic Lottery’s net profit was $492 million. This included $133.2 million from the Retail line of business, $225 million from Destination and $133.8 million from iLottery. While Retail and Destination declined year over year, digital performance continued to grow, with iLottery profit increasing by 15.4 per cent. By province, $164.5 million was returned to Nova Scotia, $152.8 million to Newfoundland and Labrador, $148.9 million to New Brunswick and $25.8 million to Prince Edward Island.
Atlantic Lottery awarded $455.7 million in prizes in 2025-26, a decrease of $5.5 million compared with the previous year, but paid out 1,612 prizes of $10,000 or more, which is an increase from 1,343 major winners in the previous year.
“As we celebrate our 50th anniversary, our focus remains firmly on providing a legal, government-regulated and entertaining experience for Atlantic Canadians,” McCready said. “Our home-field advantage comes from the things that set us apart, including our commitment to healthy play, deep roots in our communities through local sponsorships and the significant profit we return each year to benefit our region.”
Atlantic Lottery is publicly owned by the four Atlantic provinces and returns 100 per cent of its profit to the four provincial governments. The complete 2025-26 annual report, financial statements and community impact report are available at annualreport.alc.ca/2026.
Media Contact:
Greg Weston, Atlantic Lottery Communications Strategist
506.431.6392
